


Getting It Right

by FictionPenned



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Cats, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28119609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionPenned/pseuds/FictionPenned
Summary: Frost clings to the windows of the flower shop, glittering at the corners like fake cobwebs left over from Halloween. Sometimes, Dani finds herself staring into those frost-painted corners, staring at her hazy, shattered, multi-faceted reflection, fearing that she might one day find herself confronted with the vengeful, quietly raging ghost that occupies part of her mind. It is funny -- in a twisted, barking laughter, gritted teeth sort of way -- that so quickly after the ghost of her fiancé stopped populating every mirror in Dani's vicinity, that she should find herself with yet another reason to avoid her reflection. Most of the time, she keeps her eyes turned away from water and mirrors and frosted windows, but every so often, a dark curiosity takes her in its grasp, and she finds herself studying her mismatched age and the newfound lines on her face, waiting for and dreading the seemingly inevitable moment when the ghost will wake and she will be lost.In the meantime, however, she seeks to live fully and to live well, and thankfully, she has the great love of her life at her side while she does it.Written for Mistletoe Exchange 2020.
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 1
Kudos: 21
Collections: Mistletoe Exchange 2020





	Getting It Right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [doctorkaitlyn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorkaitlyn/gifts).



Frost clings to the windows of the flower shop, glittering at the corners like fake cobwebs left over from Halloween. Sometimes, Dani finds herself staring into those frost-painted corners, staring at her hazy, shattered, multi-faceted reflection, fearing that she might one day find herself confronted with the vengeful, quietly raging ghost that occupies part of her mind. It is funny -- in a twisted, barking laughter, gritted teeth sort of way -- that so quickly after the ghost of her fiancé stopped populating every mirror in Dani's vicinity, that she should find herself with yet another reason to avoid her reflection. Most of the time, she keeps her eyes turned away from water and mirrors and frosted windows, but every so often, a dark curiosity takes her in its grasp, and she finds herself studying her mismatched age and the newfound lines on her face, both awaiting and dreading the seemingly inevitable moment when the ghost will wake and she will be lost. 

In the meantime, however, she seeks to live fully and to live well, and thankfully, she has the great love of her life at her side while she does it. 

Jamie is exceptional. She is kind and warm and funny and patient. She is a master of all the little domestic skills that have so long eluded Dani. The only difficult thing about her, Dani thinks, is that she is very tricky to buy gifts for. 

In all fairness, though, buying gifts is another task that Dani struggles with no matter who the recipient is. She gets incredibly overwhelmed with trying to find the perfect thing, something good enough to stand as the last present ever just in case her resident headmate wakes up and carried her away before she has another chance to get it right -- that she forgets that Jamie would probably like and appreciate anything that Dani buys her. 

Or, at least, she'd be decent enough to pretend that she liked it, even if she didn't actually. 

However, on this particular occasion, Dani feels like she might have gotten it right. 

She tears her eyes away from the frost-bitten window and nudges the present hidden beneath the counter with the toe of her boot, checking in on its occupant. After a brief sigh of a pause, the crate rustles in reply, like a small, lovely, haunted thing. 

Dani's mouth tightens into a small, closed-lipped smile as she settles into the stool behind the shop counter, propping both of her feet up on the lower bar and folding her hands in her lap expectantly. 

Jamie is running a bit late, but Dani isn't worried about it. 

Not yet, anyway. 

It's been snowing for hours, and even though the town is relatively good about salting the sidewalks and paving the roads, it lengthens the walk between the apartment and the shop by no small margin. Snow begs the world to slow shown -- it deadens noise and casts the world beneath a smothering white blanket -- and the tourists that descend upon small New England towns at Christmastime slows things down all the more. Their starry-eyed, romantic ideals of small town charm, crackling fires, and white Christmases are good for both business and the spirit, but they're incredibly inconvenient for walking to work.

Eventually, the string of bells nestled about the door jingles, announcing Jamie's presence. Almost immediately, Dani springs to her feet, practically overflowing with frantic, nervous, bubbling energy. 

"Hi," Dani says with a toothy grin as she wipes her sweaty palms on the denim of her jeans. For a passing moment, she thinks that she should have leaned into the spirit of the season a bit harder and dressed a bit nicer. At the very least, she could've scrounged up an appropriately festive hat, but it's too late for any of that now. 

Jamie raises an eyebrow, regarding Dani with no small amount of cautious skepticism. Though they are well-suited as a couple and compliment each other well, they interact with both the world at large and unexpected surprises in very different ways. Even now, beneath the shadowed eaves it a business that they own and run together, they are still the gardener and the au pair -- one of them focused within the household, and one focused outside of it. 

"You didn't break anything while I was gone, did you, Poppins?" Jamie asks, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets and taking a step closer to the counter, eyes narrowing slightly as she surveys the shop's contents, seeking out any possible incongruences. 

Though Dani knows that she must look very much like the cat who swallowed the canary, she cannot seem to shake her grin. "No. Actually, I have a present for you." 

The eyebrow eases a smidge higher. "Christmas is a whole week away. Unless you Americans managed to muck that up, too." 

"I know, but this present is a bit hard to hide. You'll understand when you see it."

"Jesus, Poppins, I thought we agreed to keep things small this year?" 

"She is small, _technically speaking_.' 

Dani gently reaches beneath the counter and surfaces with a cat carrier. Seeing as she wanted to remain on good terms with its occupant, she didn't even try to wrap it, but there is a bright red bow on its handle, and a tiny jingle bell tied to the collar around the tabby's neck. 

"I knew you were volunteering at the shelter a bit," Dani says, words leaving her lungs in a desperate rush to fill the empty space and chase away her lingering uncertainty. She is so terribly worried about the gift's reception that she cannot bring herself to look her girlfriend in the eye. "I asked Carla which cat was your favorite. Got it settled with the landlord and everything. I know we've both been chatting about how quiet our place gets sometimes, and well --' Dani gestures vaguely in the direction of the cat, and a pink flush rises in her cheeks. 

A single thought floods her mind and marks every anxious beat of her heart. 

_Please, please like her._

Jamie crosses to the counter in stunned silence, flips the latch on the carrier open, and gathers the cat into her arms. The cat settles in like an old friend, purring her satisfaction. 

A couple more steps bring her around the corner, and she plants a gentle kiss on first the bright pink spot on Dani's cheek and then the soft, ticklish flesh of her ear. 

It succeeds only in making Dani blush all the more. 

"Merry Christmas, Jamie." Dani's tongue trips and stutters and stumped over the words. In her current flustered state, 'Merry Christmas' is the closest thing to ' _I love you_ ' that she can possibly manage. 

Her eyes flick upwards just in time to catch Jamie's pleased, nostalgic smile as she replies, "I think she's perfectly splendid."

And there is no rage or fear or pain from slumbering ghosts to interrupt their moment, only the warm glow of love and the unspoken promise to nurture this new arrival together. 


End file.
